Corporate culture and its development

Question 1

4 elements of corporate culture

Answer 1

Values and practices
Symbols
Rituals, rites and celebrations.
Heroes

Question 2

Values and practices

Answer 2

These are the way things are done in the organisation. Examples of corporate values and practices include honesty, hard work, teamwork, quality customer service, employee participation and innovation.

Question 3

Symbols

Answer 3

These are the events or objects that are established to represent something the organisation believes to be important. Organisations that believe in fostering positive competition among employees, or an active lifestyle, can organise various sporting events.

Question 4

Rituals, rites and celebrations

Answer 4

These are the routine behavioural patterns in an organisation’s everyday life. For example, regular social gatherings can be held to help develop a sense of belonging among employees who work in small teams during the week.

Question 5

Heroes

Answer 5

Heroes, or champions, are the organisation’s successful employees who reflect its values and, therefore, act as an example for others.

Question 6

Culture and organisational structures

Answer 6

A culture that values and expects defined career pathways may be evident in formal less fluid organisations. Less formal organisations with flatter management structures, less departmentalisation and fewer defined spans of control often exhibit highly flexible, innovative and risk-taking cultures.

Question 7

Why must a manager understand an organisation’s culture and how it can be maintained or developed.

It used to say must a manger must

but on the 31/10/16, the day of my yr 12 busman exam, first one ever, rest will be done next year, i decided to finally fix it…. y……

Answer 7

A manager must understand an organisation’s culture and how it can be maintained or developed. organisations with a healthy, well-developed and strong culture are more likely to be successful, because such a workplace is perceived by the employees to be more positive and personalised.

Question 8

Corporate culture

Answer 8

Corporate culture refers to the values, ideas, expectations and beliefs shared by members of the organisation. The official corporate culture can be revealed in the policies, objectives or slogans of an organisation. The real corporate culture can be seen in the unwritten or informal rules that guide how people in the organisation behave, such as the way staff dress, the language staff use, and the way that staff treat each other and customers.

Question 9

Describe one way management can develop an organisation’s corporate culture.

Answer 9

One way that management can develop corporate culture is through rituals. This involves management establishing social gatherings and developing habits which are unique to the organisation. If management develops rituals, employees will feel valued as they are part of the organisations customs and behaviours. This can lead to a much more positive corporate culture.

Question 10

Compare and contrast Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories of motivation.

Answer 10

Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories of motivation both are concerned with how to increase motivation of staff, which is the factors or practices that drive an individual to perform at their best. Maslow’s theory of motivation states that there are 5 stages of needs that need to be satisfied in order. These range from extrinsic or lower order needs such as physiological and safety and security needs to higher order intrinsic needs such as social, esteem and self-actualisation needs. Whereas Herzberg suggested that there were only 2 types of needs and that motivation and dissatisfaction were created by separate factors. Similarly to Maslow he identified extrinsic needs (hygiene factors) such as pay and job security and conditions, however, he stated that these would only provide no dissatisfaction and would not motivate staff. This is contrasted to Maslow’s theory, because he stated that extrinsic needs acted as motivators and were essential. Herzberg believed that in order to motivate staff, intrinsic needs needed to be satisfied (motivation factors) which consisted of sense of achievement and recognition. This is similar to Maslow’s higher order needs such as self-actualisation. Herzberg only highlighted 2 needs yet Maslow identified 5 and Maslow believed that extrinsic factors could motivate yet Herzberg disagreed.

Question 11

Go Travel Australia (GTA) is a large-scale organisation with headquarters in Melbourne and offices in Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart. It employs more than 250 staff in a variety of roles. The company offers a range of half-days full-day and week-long sightseeing coach tours to different parts of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, catering for both local and international tourists. The CEO, Robbie Wilson, is keen to expand the business. As part of the company’s long-term lanning, the management team at GTA has identified the Possibility of expanding its operations into Asia offering day trips and short tours to key tourist locations. The company is also cOnSidering offering customised tours. These expansion plans could require GTA to expand its long-established business which has a reputation for customer service. Discuss the impact that new employees could have on the culture of GTA.

Answer 11

Corporate culture refers to values, attitudes and beliefs shared by all members of the organisation. One way in which new employees could have an impact is the attitudes that they bring from their previous business. They might have worked at a business that values individual work and a tour business like GTA probably values teamwork and cooperation in the running of tours. GTA would have to ensure new employees understand the existing culture and GTA would have to ensure that the new employees are able to fit into the culture and contribute positively to it. New employees can help bring new perspectives and new ideas into an organisation which can often help improve an organisation such as methods of improving productivity, this contributes positively to an organisations culture as it shows that they value teamwork and new ideas. However new employees can also negatively effect culture if they are from a business that has different values, it is important that GTA find new employees that can contribute positively to corporate culture and bring in helpful new ideas and perspectives.

Question 12

Go Travel Australia (GTA) is a large-scale organisation with headquarters in Melbourne and offices in Sydney, Adelaide and Hobart. It employs more than 250 staff in a variety of roles. The company offers a range of half-days full-day and week-long sightseeing coach tours to different parts of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, catering for both local and international tourists. The CEO, Robbie Wilson, is keen to expand the business. As part of the company’s long-term lanning, the management team at GTA has identified the Possibility of expanding its operations into Asia offering day trips and short tours to key tourist locations. The company is also cOnSidering offering customised tours. These expansion plans could require GTA to expand its long-established business which has a reputation for customer service. Outline two expectations that employees at GTA might have.

Answer 12

Employee expectations are what employees believe they are entitled to receive from their employer. One employee expectation is work life balance. This is achieving the right amount of time for work and personal life. New employees will expect that they won’t be assigned on too many tours back to back and that they will have time to be with their family at home. Another employee expectation is occupational health and safety. Employees will expect that the workplace is safe for employees. New employees will expect that when working on tours that they will be safe and be trained appropriately so that they are not at risk of harm.

Question 13

Define the terms corporate culture and policy. Explain how effective policy development
will help to create a positive corporate culture.

Answer 13

Corporate culture refers to the values, attitudes and beliefs shared by all members of the organisation. There are various indicators of corporate culture including heroes, symbols, rituals, rites and celebrations.

A policy is a set of regulations, rules and procedures that essentially govern how an organisation is run and operates. A policy might be devised for anything, such as workplace bullying.

Effective policy development can help create a positive corporate culture. The first step of policy development is to identify an issue or a problem. This will help create a culture that values continuous improvement as it involves constantly checking if any problems exist that need to be fixed. The third step is to consult stakeholders. A business that consults stakeholders before creating a policy will help create a culture that values employee input which will help to attract, retain and motivate staff.

Business’s that develop policies in this way will help create a positive corporate culture as it ensures that the ideas and worries of staff are addressed and taken into account. This is a culture that values employees.

Question 14

Define the concept of corporate culture and explain the possible impact of the staff redundancies of the corporate culture of the organisation.

Answer 14

Corporate culture refers to the values, attitudes and beliefs shared by all members of the organisation. There is official corporate culture which is what the organisation claim they value evident in slogans and logos. There is also the real corporate culture which is what the organisation actually values and is evident from a range of factors including the way the staff dress.

The redundancies will probably make a large impact on corporate culture. It might show that the organisation doesn’t value employees which has a negative impact on culture. This could lower the morale and motivation of existing employees who may be worried about their job security. The business could try and maintain a culture that values its employees by offering transition values to show that they do value their employees and they want them to have good employment opportunities in the future.

Question 15

Prestige Motors is an LSO selling luxury European motor vehicles. Describe one pressure from the external environment that may impact on the ability of Prestige Motors to expand its operations.

Answer 15

One pressure from the external environment that may impact on the ability of Prestige Motors to expand its operations is competitors. Prestige Motor’s need to be weary of organisations that sell rival products as they may attract customers into choosing them instead of Prestige Motors. When thinking about expanding, they will need to check if their are any competitors in the areas they wish to expand in. They should not expand in areas that have prominence of competitors as it may be difficult to attract consumers in that area to choose to shop at Prestige Motors. They should look for areas with few competitors so that the chance of other organisations taking their market share is diminished.

Question 16

If Prestige Motors expands its business, it will need to employ 100 staff in the sales and finance departments.

Explain two processes or practices from the establishment phase of the employment cycle that Prestige Motors could implement to ensure the most suitable employees are recruited.

Answer 16

One practice from the establishment phase is recruitment. Recruitment involves finding the best qualified pool of applicants for the job. The business can recruit externally (from people outside the business) or internally (from people within the business). To ensure that the most suitable employees are recruited Prestige motors may decide to only recruit employees who have previous experience at a motor vehicle company to ensure that they already have knowledge and skills that can help them perform their job.

Another practice is selection. This involves choosing the candidate that best matches the organisations need. Prestige Motors could conduct interviews and written tests to determine if the recruits have the skills that will help Prestige Motors achieve their objectives. This ensures that all new employees will be able to effectively help Prestige motors achieve their objectives.

Question 17

Prestige Motors is an LSO selling luxury European motor vehicles. They currently operate in the Eastern States of Australia and are looking to expand into Western Australia and New Zealand. and also implement a new management structure.

Describe two features of a management structure the organisation could adopt and evaluate the use of this structure.

Answer 17

The divisional structure is a management structure where the resources and employees are arranged into different divisions based on product, process, geographical location or customers. One feature of this structure is that it offers increased flexibility as new divisions can be easily added without effecting the other divisions. Another feature of this structure is that it allows for the development of divisional managers. As each division performs all the management functions, the managers will gain skills for each department which will increase their ability to coordinate the efforts of staff.

This structure would be an effective structure for Prestige Motors to use as they could have a division for each Australian state and a division for New Zealand. This will allow them to focus on the varying conditions in each of those areas without each division worrying about the other one. This will help facilitate expansions as when they want to expand they can simply add a new division for that location and have that division solely focused on expanding into that area without worrying about the actions of the other divisions.

Question 18

Speedy Couriers has developed a strong position within the industry in which it operates. The organisation derided to take over another company. Quick Dispatch, in an effort to expand quickly. Speedy Couriers provides an efficient service and is known for its positive corporate culture and focus on social responsibility. Quick Dispatch employees have found it difficult to cope after the takeover.

Describe the concept of corporate culture. Discuss the possible impact of the quick dispatch employees on the culture of speedy couriers.

Answer 18

Corporate culture refers to the attitudes, values and beliefs shared by all members of an organisation. It is important to have a positive culture as it can attract and maintain talented staff. One way in which employees from quick dispatch may have influenced on culture is by bringing in new values. Quick dispatch may not have valued social responsibility and as they are now working for speedy couriers they may have brought their old value with them and encouraged existing speedy courier employees to neglect social responsibility as well. This would negatively impact on the culture of speedy couriers as instead of having the shared values of social responsibility, some employees do not actually have this value.

The new employees could have also positively impacted on culture. They might have brought in new perspectives or ideas that can help the organisation. For example the quick dispatch employees may have had a very productive process for delivering goods. They could have shared this process with speedy couriers and helped them work more productively. This contributes to a positive culture as it is a culture that values productivity and employee input.

Question 19

Speedy Couriers has developed a strong position within the industry in which it operates. The organisation derided to take over another company. Quick Dispatch, in an effort to expand quickly. Speedy Couriers provides an efficient service and is known for its positive corporate culture and focus on social responsibility. Quick Dispatch employees have found it difficult to cope after the takeover.

Explain an appropriate style after the takeover.

Answer 19

A consultative style could be used. This is where managers consult with employees before making decisions and asking for their input. It has centralised decision making as managers still make the decisions independly but it has two way communication as employees give feedback to managers. IT is appropriate after a takeover as many employees from Quick Dispatch may feel uneasy about the process and they would be allowed to give feedback to managers and ask questions to feel more conformable in the takeover process.

Question 20

Harry Shaw has recently joined large computer manufacturer Buzz Computers. During induction he is taught the corporate culture of the organisation, but after a month’s employment he has noticed some differences between the culture described, and the culture he observes at work.

Define corporate culture and describe the difference between official culture and real culture. In your answer, name two indicators of real corporate culture Harry may have observed.

Answer 20

Corporate culture refers to the values, ideas, expectations and beliefs shared by members of the organisation. The official corporate culture can be revealed in the policies, objectives or slogans of an organisation. The real corporate culture can be seen in the unwritten or informal rules that guide how people in the organisation behave, such as the way staff dress, the language staff use, and the way that staff treat each other and customers.

One indicator of real culture is the way staff talk to each other. Harry may have observed staff talking to managers in an unfriendly way. This would show that the organisation doesn’t value professionalism and respect which can negatively impact business performance as customers may be unmotivated to work.

Another indicator could be the way staff are dressed. Harry may have observed that staff were wearing casual unprofessional clothes. This shows that the organisation does not value professionalism and they value.

Question 21

`Newbank International’ is a large multinational organisation which was started in Germany. It has recently established one hundred branches across the rural areas and large country towns of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. The bank has begun an aggressive marketing campaign to win customers and has undercut the interest rates on home and personal loans of most of its competitors. As part of the expansion, 180 senior managers from Germany have come to Australia to assist in the running of the bank. In addition, 8500 employees have been recruited locally. While the bank’s entry into the Australian market was seen as a success, the results of a recent staff satisfaction survey raised a number of concerns. Employees feel they are not supported and there are limited opportunities for further promotion. The survey also found that staff morale is low and that staff in the branches feel isolated. Senior management is viewed as supportive, but having very little understanding of life in a rural Australian town.

Define corporate culture. Outline the way in which new employees learn about the culture of an organisation. Discuss the possible impact of the new management and the results of the staff satisfaction survey on the development of the corporate culture of the organisation.

Answer 21

Corporate culture refers to the values, ideas, expectations and beliefs shared by members of the organisation. The official corporate culture can be revealed in the policies, objectives or slogans of an organisation. The real corporate culture can be seen in the unwritten or informal rules that guide how people in the organisation behave, such as the way staff dress, the language staff use, and the way that staff treat each other and customers.

One way in which employees learn about the culture is through induction. Induction is the process of familiarising staff with the workplace and it can be formal or informal. Informal induction can involve watching videos and attending seminars where they are informed of the policies and procedures of the business. If they learn of a workplace bullying policy, they would discover that the organisation has a culture that values professionalism and denounces bullying. Or it could be an informal induction process where they are partnered with a buddy or mentor who is an experienced employee who teaches them them how the organisation operates. They can often learn about what the culture is through talking with their buddy or watching them work. If the buddy is talking very casually and wearing casual clothes it might show that the business has a culture that is laid back.

If the new management makes effort to understand life in a rural Australian town this could contribute to a culture that values strong relationships and encourages two way communication between managers and employees. However, if they make no such effort this could contribute to a culture that doesn’t really value its employees and strong relationships which could lower the motivation and morale of staff.

As the survey has shown that that their are limited opportunities for promotion and that staff morale is low, this suggests that the current culture doesn’t value staff growth which is leading to low staff morale. If Newbank make effort to offer promotion opportunities for their employees, this could contribute to a culture that values staff input and growth. This could result in improved staff satisfaction and morale which would make staff more motivated to work productively.